Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. (MCVT), a specialty finance company, announced a massive $450 million private placement to jump into the Sui cryptocurrency market. This investment will primarily be used to acquire SUI tokens, making Mill City a major player in the Sui ecosystem.
A Big Bet on Sui
The funding round was led by Karatage, a London-based hedge fund specializing in digital assets, with matching investment from the Sui Foundation itself. Several other prominent firms participated, including Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, and Electric Capital. This significant investment underscores the confidence in Sui’s potential for mass adoption.
New Leadership and Strategy
With the closing of the private placement (expected around July 31st, 2025), Mill City will shift its focus to a Sui treasury strategy. Karatage co-founders Marius Barnett and Stephen Mackintosh will join Mill City’s board as Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, respectively. Dana Wagner, a board member at Coinbase Custody Trust Company, will also join the board as an independent director. This new leadership team brings extensive experience in digital assets and finance.
The Sui Strategy
Mill City plans to use roughly 98% of the funds to buy SUI tokens, primarily through open market purchases and a negotiated deal with the Sui Foundation. The remaining 2% will support Mill City’s existing short-term lending business. This makes Mill City the only publicly traded company with a foundation-backed Sui treasury strategy.
Industry Reaction
Industry leaders are enthusiastic about this move. Stephen Mackintosh highlighted the convergence of institutional crypto and AI as creating huge opportunities, and Sui’s ability to handle this scale. Christian Thompson from the Sui Foundation echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Sui’s scalability and security. Adeniyi Abiodun of Mysten Labs (the creators of Sui) stated that this partnership marks a pivotal moment for Sui’s vision.
Disclaimer
This investment carries significant risk. Investors should conduct thorough due diligence before investing in cryptocurrencies.